The Twelve Days Of Christmas
by Catnatural
Summary: Cas is slowly falling - and doesn't know that the Winchesters know. He slowly experiences being a human - this time, he learns about Christmas through the song The Twelve Days Of Christmas.


**A/N: Hi! This is my first Christmas fic, and it's more of a humour thing really. There is some angst (it's the Winchesters and Cas, of course there's going to be angst!), but the majority is really humour.**

** Cas is slowly falling from heaven, he's thinking the boys haven't noticed, but as he's been spending so much time with them lately, they kind of can't miss it. Cas is gradually learning the characteristics and behaviours that humans possess, and here he's learning about the whole concept of Christmas, told through the** _Twelve Days Of Christmas_**song.**

** Merry Christmas everyone!**

**I've been writing this when taking breaks from studying history...got my exam on the 21st December...eeeep. 3 hours to write down history stuff...god, I don't like uni anymore...**

**DISCLAIMER:** **I don't own Supernatural, Sam, Dean, or Cas. Or the song** _Twelve Days Of Christmas_, or _Bambi_ **or Justin Bieber (thank god!) . ****I do however, own the characters of Jonathan and Lucky, 'cause they're awesome. This fic has no particular specific time-line, I don't think, obviously set after season 4 cause of Cas, so I'm just going to say it's set around season 4.**

**Enjoy! **

_**1. A Partridge In A Pear Tree.**_

Dean took a long drink out of the frosted beer bottle, absently noting that he was nearly finished, "Sammy!" he hollered loudly, "Get me another beer!"

"No, Dean!" Sam replied from Bobby's living room, his laptop balancing dangerously on his bony knees as he researched new cases.

"But Sammy..." The older man whined playfully.

A long suffering sigh emitted from the living room and a chair was heard scraping along the floor and footsteps pounded across the room, a door slammed, and suddenly, Sam was in front of him, glaring. Dean glanced up, a cocky smirk plastered on his face as he reached out, "Thanks, Sammy."

Sam shook his head in exasperation and turned to leave, stopping as a flutter of wings sounded out and an exhausted Castiel appeared in the library, scruffy-haired as he perched carefully against the door frame.

"You alright, Cas?" Dean asked curiously, placing his beer down on the table.

Cas tilted his head and frowned, before muttering softly, "I am fine, Dean. I need your help -"

"What's wrong?" Sam interrupted, sitting in one of the many chairs splattered around the large room.

"I was ordered to..." he trailed off, clearly searching the right words before he ploughed on, unsure, "I was informed that I am in Heaven a large proportion of my time...that I am...there unnecessarily. I was told to...spend time on Earth, away from Heaven."

"For how long?" Dean asked with furrowed brows, casting a look at Sam, who shrugged.

"My vessel is exhausted. I have to allow him time to recover, so it may be a while. I did not know where to go, I hope it is not too bothersome for me to stay here?"

"It's fine, boy!" Bobby interrupted, walking through the door and causing Castiel to uncharacteristically jump. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Thank you." he looked gratefully at Bobby before turning to Dean, "I was told that this was a season of...festivities?" he frowned in confusion with his characteristic head-tilt in place, "And Gabriel said that I should...enjoy myself? He informed me that you all would assist me in that matter."

The trio stared at the puppy-eyed angel before Dean chuckled, "Christmas, Cas, that's what it's called. You get presents and drink, and spend time with your family."

"Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth, Dean. Not a time for the celebration of meaningless material possessions. Furthermore, I have no family to speak of, the angels are no longer willing to assist me in my missions."

"You mean you had a fight with your brothers, and now you're sulking?" Dean summarised with a smirk as Cas frowned at him again. His smirk grew into a large grin as he spun to face Sam, "Right, Gigantor. We need presents and decorations. And a tree, mush!"

"I'm not a husky, Dean." Sam sighed wearily, before leaving the room, twirling the car keys in his long fingers.

When Sam had left, Bobby muttered something about food and wandered out, leaving Dean and Cas in an awkward silence. The man in the trench-coat seemed quite content; he was currently gazing into the roaring fireplace, a contemplative expression on his pale face.

"Cas?" Dean questioned tentatively. "You ok, buddy?"

"Yes. I was merely contemplating...how does one celebrate Christmas?"

"Well, it's different for everyone, I guess. We tend to just watch bad movies, drink and be merry." Dean smirked. "Oh, and when we get that drunk, we sing Christmas songs."

"Christmas...songs?" And that adorable confused look was back on Cas's face...only Dean would never admit that out loud.

"Yeah, like...uh...Silent Night...Jingle B...wait...that's a rude one...saw it on TV way back...um, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer..."

"The Twelve Days of Christmas?" Cas repeated cautiously, "I was under the impression that the celebration of Christmas occurred for only one day."

"Christmas day is one day, Cas. But you've got the day before Christmas, that's called Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas Day is Boxing Day...and most of December is the lead up to it. You have carollers and you put up the tree."

"Is that what the song is about?"

"...song? _**Oh**_! The song! Uh...I'm not sure, it's just one I've always known, ya know?"

"Would you sing it?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Could you sing it? I've heard you before, you've got an impressive voice," Cas complimented monotonously.

"Um..well, it goes...it kinda...goes like this," He took a deep breath, "On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a partridge in a pear tree. On the second day-"

"Why a pear tree? Would that fit through the door?"

"I...I don't know, Cas." Dean rolled his eyes, "I didn't write the damn song."

Cas frowned at Dean's language before stating firmly, "We should ask the writer."

"I think he's probably dead, Cas. That song's been out for...well, forever." Dean fought the urge to laugh at the solemn expression on the angel's face.

"...Oh..." The blue-eyed man slowly breathed out. "Why would his lover want a bird?"

"Romantic, I guess?" Dean shrugged, "I don't know."

"Would you like me to obtain a partridge for you, Dean?"

Dean coughed, "...Excuse me?"

"The song stated 'lover'. I love you, therefore it seems appropriate that I search for a partridge for you."

"...Love?" Dean stared at Cas.

"Yes. I gripped you tight, and raised you from perdition. I rebuilt your broken body, have disobeyed God and the other angels in order to help you here on Earth. I was informed by my brothers that I clearly love you."

Dean sighed at Cas's earnest expression before cursing damn angles and their ridiculous conspiracies. He sighed and pinched his nose in frustration before turning to Cas and replying, "I think they were pulling your leg, Cas."

Cue the curious head-tilt forcing to Dean to blurt out, "No, not literally, Cas! They were...teasing you?" He paused and waited for Cas's nod of understanding before continuing, "You spend so much time with me and Sammy, mostly me, they're mocking you."

Cas nodded slowly again. "So," He said slowly, curiously as his shocking blue eyes met Dean's green ones, "You do not require a partridge in a pear tree?"

Dean chuckled under his breath before throwing a hand on the angel's shoulders, "No, Cas. I don't need a bird for Christmas. Unless it's a Turkey."

_**Two Turtle Doves.**_

Cas blinked curiously at the strange animals in the cage. Unusually bright, their pure white coat speckled with brown, shimmered in the shop light, catching Cas's eyes every time he moved.

He lowered his slim body onto the floor and placed his hands onto the cage causing the two animals to focus their attention on them.

"Hello, creatures. I am an angel of the lord." he murmured softly, starting when he heard a slight giggle from behind him. Casting his eyes around and seeing that Sam and Dean were at the counter, deep in conversation with the owner, Cas frowned when he could not discover the source of the peculiar noise. He flinched when he felt someone grab onto his sleeve and looked up to see a small child smiling at him.

"Hello, mister. You were talking to the birds. They can't talk back, you know. My daddy says only parrots can talk. What are you here for? I want a dog but mommy says I can have a fish first."

Cas blinked at the little girl before murmuring, "I am with my charges," he motioned towards the Winchesters, "We are looking into a strange occurrence that happened yesterday afternoon."

The little girl tilted her head at him, her imitation of Castiel so accurate that it surprised even him. "I don't know what that means." She looked extremely apologetic as she bit her lip, "But my daddy's a policeman and he was working last night. I heard him talk to my mommy about Mrs Hume next door. She bought a snake and she died." The little girl nodded and then gasped, "I won't die if I get a fish, will I?"

Cas blinked again, "I...do not think so. Your soul is pure, therefore I see no reason for the animals to desire to cause you harm. Would you please inform me of everything you know about Mrs Hume?"

"Cas!" Dean interrupted, striding over to Cas,"What did we tell you? Don't talk to people!"

Castiel raised his head up and focused his eyes on Dean's frowning face. "I was talking to the little girl, Dean."

"Right, we're didn't get much here...what the frigging hell are those things?" Dean's eyes caught the flash of white in the cage.

"Turtle doves," Sam informed them promptly, "Strange how they're here though."

Dean rolled his eyes as he pulled Cas off up the floor, "Encyclopedia of weirdness, Sammy. Just sayin'." He smirked as he dragged Cas away from the little girl, who smiled brightly, waving at him as he left.

"Did you make a new friend, Cas?" Dean grinned as Cas's sad eyes focused on him after an unsure wave at the little girl.

"I did not find out her name. But her father informed her mother of a Mrs Hume who purchased a snake from the establishment we were just visiting. She is now deceased."

"We know that, Cas...wait, the snake was from here? God, I need to go back!" Dean exclaimed as he charged back into the shop. Moments later, Sam and Castiel followed him in.

The next morning, when Dean woke up and Sammy was snoring loudly into his pillow, he glanced out of the window and was surprised to see two turtle doves perched on the motel window sill, with an olive branch hanging out of their beaks.

_**Three French Hens.**_

"What's so special about France, Dean? Why did we have to come all the way here to investigate a 'possible' case?" Sam whined with finger quotes.

"Dude. French girls." He grinned, slapping his hand down on Cas's bony shoulder, "What's wrong with you?"

Cas jumped and tilted his head to look at Dean, "I have never been to this country before. I have looked upon it from the Heavens, as I have many others."

Dean stared at Cas for a moment, blinked and then threw his other arms over Sam's shoulder and tightened his grip on Cas's shoulder before dragging them down the lane. "Well, I thought we could take a break from all the huntin'. It's been real bad lately, and I get the feelin' it's gonna be real bad again. Plus, it's about time we gotta know you, angel-cakes."

Castiel frowned suspiciously at the nickname before letting out a weary sigh as they slowly trudged along the long, dusty, winding road towards the little village. "There is not much to know. I am an angel, my duty is to protect you and your brother."

Dean rolled his eyes at the melodramatic man in the trench-coat, "Riiiiight. Ok, then. What do you do for fun?"

"Fun?" Castiel frowned in confusion, "I am an angel, we do not possess the time for such meaningless activi-"

"Cas. You'll...blow up or somethin' if you don't get a break every now and again." Dean sighed in exasperation, "So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go to the shop, get some grub, then go back to the hotel, " Dean had actually treated them to a 5 star hotel, he simply did not think of the cost for once, "And watch some really bad Christmas movies, ok? I think the Grinch is on tonight."

Moments later, they eventually arrived in the small picturesque town and the three men strolled down the main street until the reached a farm. Cas stopped dead in front of the entrance and looked to Dean, "Why would you want to buy a hen?"

"Hmmm?" Dean turned to look at the sign that stated, _Finest Hens in the area! Special Christmas Offer – buy 1 get 2 free!, _"Uh...to eat, Cas."

"But," he frowned and pointed to the nearest enclosure, "These creatures are still alive. How does one kill one? Are they pleasant to consume?"

Even Sam fought the urge to laugh as he stuttered out, "Uh...Cas, the owners would probably do it for you, some people like to do themselves, some have them as pets..."

"I like that one." He squatted down on the ground and pointed to a hen who was clucking away near the gate and looked up at him as the angels' shadow fell across it. "His soul is pure. He is not as angry as his friend, nor as quiet as the friend's brother. He is worried, he is unfamiliar with how to assist them, but can only hope they will come to him when he needs help."

"Cas..." Dean stated doubtfully, not missing the hidden message, "It's just a friggin' chicken. Do you want one or not?"

Cas firmly shook his head, "No, thank you, Dean. I do not require nourishment, and I believe these hens would be far more content if we did not kill them today."

_**Four Calling Birds.**_

Dean spun around on the bar stool and glancing around, his eyes fell on Cas who was perching on the edge of a bar stool, staring intently up at the dancers, a look of utmost fascination upon his normally blank face. Dean's grin widened as he motioned to Sam to look, and the youngest Winchester burst out laughing at the angel, alerting his attention away from the hookers and a confused expression replaced the earlier one.

"Sam?" He questioned curiously.

"Having fun, Cas?" He sniggered immaturely.

"...I guess?" Cas frowned and looked at Sam as if he didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling...which was probably the case. "Why do these women...objectify themselves like this? Would it not be more beneficial for them to dance like this for their husbands? And I personally believe that the large majority of men in this bar are married." He nodded towards a burly man a couple of seats down, who was leering at the young blonde woman twirling around a pole, and he reached out to her, a ten dollar bill clutched in his grubby fist, his wedding ring catching in the disco lights.

Sam cast a look at Dean and sighed in exasperation before explaining slowly, "Well, Cas. Most of these guys are here because their wives won't do this for them. And some of the others don't have a girlfriend or wife, so they come here instead. And most of the women like this job. Some do it for choice, they have bills to pay and stuff, I guess. Kids to look after." He shrugged, hoping Cas understood.

The angel nodded slowly, "I understand. But I don't understand why we are here. Why did you bring me here, Sam? This is a...den of iniquity. I do not feel...fully comfortable with my surroundings. I have never been...in the vicinity of so much sin in such a short space of time."

The burly guy a couple of seats behind suddenly slid off his chair, with about as much grace as Bambi on ice, before lowering down and breathing foul-smelling fumes into Cas's ear as he growled out, "You might wanna watch what yer sayin', buddy. Ya hear me? People might get offended if yeh keep goin' on about sinning and stuff. This here is a proper business, the women get paid good and no-one gets hurt. So yeh just shut yer pretty little mouth, before someone decides to do it for ya."

Castiel appeared to be completely oblivious to the drunk man, only shuddering very slightly when the smell reached his nostrils, before he tilted his head to the side, with his back to the man and breathed out quietly, "It is against the Lord's wishes for humans to portray themselves in this vulgar fashion. Women were not created to be purely...desires of the flesh. They are to be treated equal, as all God's creatures should be. And although, on the outside, the women appear to be treated...well, I believe that inside, they are hurting. To be desired, only for what your body looks like, and not the true person you are, must be a truly horrifying and humiliating experience for all the women in this bar."

There was silence for a moment, and the man looked up at the blonde woman who was still twirling around the pole, only now, she was joined by three other women – a brunette, a black-haired woman, and a red-haired woman. The foursome started calling out to the men in the bar, asking them what music they wanted, fake smiles etched upon their faces as the surrounding males hollered and leered at them to take off their clothes.

"Alright there, blondie!" An old man shouted drunkenly, "What's a hot bird like you doin' in a scummy place like this?"

"Do you see what I am saying?" Cas implored, shifting around on the bar stool to stare into the older man's unshaven face. "Do you see how these women are treated?"

"Look, buddy!" The man's face was twisted with rage as he grabbed Cas's collar and lifted him up slightly and shouted at him, spit flying onto Cas's cheeks as he flinched slightly, "You don't get to come in here and say what you want! These women are treated right, and I think ya should leave!"

"I didn't mean any disresp-"

"Would you button it, ya-" He broke off, unable to think of an appropriate insult for the smaller, slim man who was gazing up at him, no fear in his shining blue eyes, "Just...get out of here, ok? Before someone else gets ya, and they won't be nearly as nice as me!"

Cas nodded before suggesting quietly, "If you would be so kind as to put me down, sir. I would gladly leave."

The man sighed before lowering Cas onto the ground. With a pointed look, and a growl, he stormed over to the four women on the stage and shoved a bundle of dollars at the nearest one before throwing himself on the closet chair.

Cas nodded as if something had been achieved, and caught the four women's eyes who nodded and winked at him before hollering out, "Bye, angel-cakes!"

They were half-way to the Impala before Dean burst out laughing, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his ribs. Sam rolled his eyes and walked ahead, leaving Cas to stare in confusion at the eldest Winchester. "Dean?"

"Oh, man, Cas. There's never a dull moment with you, is there?" And he charged after Sam, leaving Cas to stand there, by the road-side, the street lamp above him, illuminating his confused features as he simply stared after the Winchesters.

_**Five Golden Rings.**_

"Hey, Sammy. What do you want for Christmas?" Dean suddenly asked on a cold, dreary morning.

Sam, who had been gazing at the bright light of his laptop only seconds before, glanced up at his older brother and shrugged, "Dunno. You?"

"Dunno, we've never really bothered with it since we were kids, you know? But...well, it's Cas's first Christmas, so..."

"You think we should do something special? What are you going to get him?" He sighed and locked eyes with Dean.

"I don't know, Sammy. What do you get an angel for Christmas?"

"Hello, Dean."

"Jesus – Cas! Seriously, I am gonna get you a bell."

"I apologise. It was not my intention to startle you. I notice that you are busy, so I will stop only for a moment." An odd expression flashed across his face before he schooled it into an expressionless mask and began rummaging through the many pockets of his trench-coat. Eventually he fished out two small packages and thrust each one towards Sam and Dean before murmuring in a hoarse voice, "I found that it is a tradition to give gifts at Christmas to the ones you love – your friends and family. I did not know what gift...so I hope that you will find these somewhat satisfactory. I will leave now. Merry Christmas" He looked up at them, and with a flutter of wings, he was gone.

After a moment, Dean turned to Sam, noting the identical look of confusion on the other man's face. "Ok," he breathed out. "You know, after all these years...I thought I'd seen everything. I went to Hell, we've both died so many times...but I never thought we'd be getting Christmas presents from an angel."

"Yeah...shall we open it? I know it's not Christmas yet, but I'm kinda curious."

Dean answered with a nod, and slowly unravelled the shimmering ribbon off of the bundle, cautious of the delicate wrapping paper and slid the small hidden box from inside it, until it was placed in the palm of his hand. With a quick glance at Sam – who's ribbon was currently in a knot – he popped open the small box to see a golden ring glistening in the light. On closer inspection, he noticed that it had an engraving on it, an inscription carefully carved into the ring, unclear from a first glance;

_'Thank you for being you. There is no-one else on Earth that I would have rather disobeyed for.'_

Choked up with an emotion he couldn't decipher, he placed the ring on his middle finger and put the box down on the table, before turning to Sam who was staring at his ring with an identical expression. "Sammy?"

"You get a ring too? With an inscription?"

Dean nodded and took the ring off, swapped rings with Sam, read his ( '_It is your actions that __portray the man you are, not the content of your blood.'_ ) before returning it to its owner and placing his carefully back on his finger. "Well..." he trailed off.

"Yeah. Now I really don't know what to get him." He was interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone. With a quick glance down to see who the caller was, he flipped it open and answered with a, "Bobby? You ok?"

"Did you two idgits just get a visit from Cas?"

"..yeah. Why, did you?"

"Yeah, he turned up, looked for you two, then spouted out some lecture about Christmas, gave me a present then vanished. I opened it and it was a-"

"Ring? With an inscription? Yeah. Dean and I got one each too."

"Yeah. And Ellen phoned just a second ago. Seems her and Jo got one each too. Ellen's said, '_You are a wonderful mother. You should be proud of what Joanna Beth has _become', and Jo's said, '_I think I am starting to feel something. Thank you for introducing me to the joys of alcohol'_."

"What? Where on earth did Castiel get five golden rings? And why would he give them to us?" Sam asked in confusion.

"I dunno, boy. Think he got confused with the whole Christmas thing. He wanted to fit in by giving presents, I guess, and he didn't know what to get." Sam then asked him what his had said, so he continued, "Uh..." There was a shuffling, "_Blood is irrelevant of what the heart feels. You are their father._" He coughed.

"He's right, you know, Bobby. You are like a father-"

"Shaddap, ya idgit." Bobby coughed again. "What about yours?"

Sam told him, and they sat talking for a little while longer, leaving Dean with his thoughts of Cas and the whole concept of Christmas.

_**6. Six Geese A-Laying.**_

"I do not understand." Cas sighed despondently as he held the soaked rag to his bloodied forehead. "Why did they attack?"

Dean, who had a bag of frozen peas clutched to his puffy right eye with his right hand, and his left hand was currently cleaning up a deep cut on his left knee, looked up and explained, "They were protecting the eggs, Cas."

"I still don't understand, Dean. We meant them no harm. We were simply passing through. We are all God's creatures, surely they understood-"

Dean gave into temptation and rolled his eyes as Sam's grin took over his whole face before he grimaced and continued cleaning his own wounds, "Uh. They were...nesting. They were protecting the eggs, all mothers do it. They thought they wanted to harm their babies, so they attacked us."

"Like your mother did for you both." Cas nodded to himself. "I think I understand now. I never knew a human could bleed so much," He observed, gazing at the other two, "Even when I rebuild your body, I did not realise the large quantity of blood the human body contained, despite my observations of the human body." He winced.

"You ok, buddy?" Dean questioned, grimacing as he tried to sit up. He glanced at Cas who was staring at the bloodied rag that had been on his forehead moments before, in fascination. "How long will it take you to heal?"

"I am not sure. I need time to rest, I have been working rather a lot, of late. I will need time to...recharge my batteries?" He asked, unsure.

Dean nodded with a slight grin, "You just go lie on the bed, ok? We'll finish cleaning up here and rest ourselves. We'll find a new hunt tomorrow."

Cas slowly lifted himself up off the wooden chair, shuffled his way across the room with stiff legs, and carefully lowered himself down on the nearest bed, perching on the edge of it and looked up at Sam and Dean.

"You need to lay back and close your eyes, Cas. It's the only way you can rest. And don't let me catch you thinking, buddy. Sleep."

Cas nodded before lying down and closing his eyes. Seconds later he sighed in exasperation, "It's not working, Dean. I keep thinking of the geese."

Sam fought the urge to laugh as he sluggishly stood up and began tidying away the medical supplies. He smacked Dean on the back of the head and chuckled, "Go help your angel. He can't sleep."

Dean glared at his brother, a deep scowl on his face, before he stood up and lowered himself onto the floor by Castiel's bed and a fond expression replaced the scowl. He was quiet for a brief second, before he lulled Cas to sleep by telling him about the time he and his dad taught Sammy how to walk.

_**7. Seven Swans A-Swimming.**_

"Do you think these swans are similar to the geese? I can't seem to see any eggs." Cas questioned, standing on his tip-toes as he peered over to the seven swans swimming in the shallow sea. He glanced back at the two men, as if waiting impatiently for their reply.

"God, I hope not." Dean grinned, "We've only just recovered from the geese." He too, stood up on his toes.

The trio were huddled together, next to the steps that led down to the beach as they stared at the swans, who had now stretched their necks up so that their beady little eyes were focused completely on the humans.

"If," Dean said quietly and slowly, so as not to attract the unwanted attention of the swans, "If we edge our way along this wall, we should be able to get to the cave, investigate it for remains, and edge our way back out, along the beach and up the stairs into the car before they can say 'Bob's your uncle'."

"But Dean-" Cas protested.

"I know, Cas. I know I don't have an uncle called Bob. We have a surrogate uncle called Bobby, though. So can we get on with it?"

Cas nodded firmly and the three men took a deep breath before slowly edging their way along the moss covered wall, wincing when they stepped on a particularly loud twig, or they knocked over a pile of pebbles. Finally, the three of them were in the cave.

A short while later, they emerged from the cave, shivering as they noticed that night had fallen, along with a thin blanket of snow. Furiously rubbing his frozen hands together, and noticing Sam do the same, he turned to make sure Cas was doing ok, when he noticed that the angel had stopped dead in front of them.

"Cas?" he whispered.

"We need to be quiet." He muttered softly in return, "The swans have moved positions and they are currently gathered round the exact staircase that we need to use in order to leave."

Dean smacked his palm of his face, grimacing when his frozen fingers made contact with his ice-cold forehead. "What are we gonna do then?" He groaned, looking at Sam.

"One of us is going to have to distract them, Dean. I'm trying to think..." he sighed.

"Think quicker then, Einstein!"

"I'm trying, you moron! It's freezing!"

"Oh, really? I'd never of guessed, you know, what with my fingers not about to fall off!"

"Sam, Dean, please." Cas implored, "We do not have much time. The cold weather is about to get worse; in a few short hours, the beach will be completely covered in snow and neither of you two are dressed appropriately for it."

"Right mom." Dean rolled his eyes before storming forwards, picking up a small pebble and launching it at the nearest swan. It landed near it, and the swan stared at him menacingly before padding towards him, promptly followed by the other six swans. "Balls!" Dean snapped.

"Well done, Dean. Exactly what we wanted to do! Aggravate the swans into attacking us so that we don't get home!"

"Tell ya what, Sammy! Let's get out of there, then you can tell me what a moron I am, ok?" Not giving Sam a chance to reply Dean legged in through the middle of the geese. Catching on quickly, Sam ran to the right, shouting back at Cas and motioning for him to go the left. The distraction, at first, seemed to be a complete disaster, as Cas ended up facing three swans whilst one charged after Sam, leaving the remaining two to glare at Dean. Suddenly though, a flash of black whooshed by Dean's face and moments later, the geese were rounded up, and in front of them, was a collie, furiously wagging its tail with its tongue lolling of its panting mouth.

"I am so sorry!" A middle-aged man gasped out, appearing beside Dean. "Are you three ok? Lucky normally is a bit quicker than that! She's getting a bit old though, so she's a bit slower than normal."

Dean simply stared at the man in shock, as did Sam, leaving Cas to approach the man and gratefully thank him, "We are fine, thank you. Your dog is a good creature, willing to help others and not desiring any gratitude in return. All she requires is warm food, and a place to sleep, and I see that she has that with you. The Lord is grateful." He reached out his hand, grasping the man's like Dean taught him before quickly shaking it and walking up the stairs, his trench-coat flapping wildly behind him.

With a quick look at each other, Sam and Dean stuttered out their thanks to the amused man, and charged off after Cas.

The man on the beach turned to his dog, ruffled her ears as she emitted a groan of contentment, "What strange men, Lucky. Good girl, there's a nice juicy bone for you!"

_**8. Eight Maids A-Milking.**_

"Lucky! Heel girl!" The man hollered after his hyperactive dog as it ploughed into Sam causing him to stumble. "I am so sorry, she has a habit of...hey! Don't I know you?"

And indeed he did. "Hey, I'm Jonathan. Lucky saved you that day on the beach from those geese, how are you all doing now?"

"Thank you. We're fine, just thought we'd come down and see the big fair at this farm. Seemed to be quite a big deal in town. I'm Dean by the way, and this is my brother, Sam." Dean grinned as he shook Jonathan's hand.

"Hi there! Where's the other boy that was with you? The one in the trench-coat?"

"Cas? Oh, he's around, somewhere." Dean glanced around, trying to locate the man.

"Cas? That's an unusual name. Is it short for something?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"Castiel." Said man interjected suddenly, causing them all to jump, "I am...named after the angel of Thursday."

"That so?" The man asked, amused. "I don't recall ever reading about a Castiel in the bible, but then, I haven't read it in a long time."

"Why is that?"

"Well, some bad stuff happened a while back, and I prayed...it didn't change nothing, so..." he trailed off and shrugged.

"That does not mean He does not care for you, you were...surely in his thoughts," Cas frowned as the man stared incredulously at him.

There was a momentary awkward silence in which the four men stared at each other, willing someone else to speak and break the silence. Sam let out a deep, weary sigh and asked, "What kind of things do you have at this fair then?"

"Well, I've been holding it for years and some of the stuff stays, but this years we've got the bouncy castle for the kids, the raffle over in the corner, some of the local women have got a bake sale running, and there's some kids games like, Pin The Tale on the Donkey and Blind Man's Bluff. There's sales of livestock too, if you're interested, and some of the farmers daughters are in those tents over there, think they've got a competition going or somethin'." He explained. His eye caught someone in the distance who motioned for him to come over, and turning to the men, he apologised, "Sorry, boys, but Jim over there's callin' for me, so I'll see ya both later, if you need me, I'll be wanderin' around in a bit." And he meandered off.

"Say, Sammy. What do ya say we go and investigate those girls he was talking about?" Dean grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, "I suppose so. I haven't been to a fair like this since we were kids, Dean. Remember the rides they had at the one near Bobby's?"

The two Winchesters headed towards the tent, and Cas trudged along wearily behind them. He was tired, that much was clear from his constant ruffled hair, and the dark bruises under his eyes. He'd been overworked lately, as had Sam and Dean. But they appeared to take random breaks every now and then – a concept that was peculiar to Castiel, who was used to working continuously. He hadn't mentioned it to the boys yet, he was afraid of their reactions; but Castiel feared that some of his grace was diminishing. Of late, he has been showing more and more human characteristics – fatigue and hunger, for example. He had eventually overcome the hunger by claiming to want to try some of the food Dean lived on – burgers and fries – much to the Winchesters' amusement, and thus Cas had discovered his love for the fast-food. He sighed deeply, and shuffled along the dirt covered path to catch up with the boys. He nearly ploughed into the back of them, managing to prevent the collision at the very last second, and he tried stretching his neck so that he could see what had caused the obstruction.

There, splattered around the large tent, were eight extremely pretty girls, each dressed in an old-fashioned blue and white striped dress, with a frilly cream apron on top. Each girl was perched on the edge of a stool and was currently milking a cow. Cas frowned, not really seeing the point of the attraction, but Dean, and even Sam, appeared to be enjoying the spectacle, as could be seen from the looks of raw fascination that were stamped across both of their faces. Cas looked closer, determined to find something about the sight that he liked – sure, the girls were pretty, but they didn't seem all that happy to be there, they looked bored and kept glaring at the farmers who were watching them intently. Castiel was bewildered – humanity was strange, and it was clear that it was going to take a lot of getting used to before he was even somewhat comfortable here.

_**9. Nine Ladies Dancing.**_

Dean tilted his head back as he poured the fifth shot down his throat, grinning as Sam and Cas imitated him, the latter coughing as the liquid filtered down his throat. He'd finally persuaded the others to go back out to a bar – not the same one with the pole-dancer, however, they were all slightly wary of repeating _**that**_ particular situation again. This bar was much classier than that one, Dean mused, there was no tacky disco light, no overweight, grumpy drunks falling off of bar-stools and hissing into _**his**_ angel's ear...and ok, maybe he was just a teensy bit drunk, but hey! It's Saturday, right? There must be a law somewhere, that you _**must **_get drunk on a Saturday...he hiccuped loudly as he motioned for another round of shots to be brought to their table, and glanced back at his brother who was currently snoring into his massive arms, his head burrowed into them on the scummy table, whereas Castiel was peering into the bottom of his first shot as if it held the answer to life...or something.

"Where has all the rum gone, Cas?" Dean snickered eloquently before letting out a loud belch.

"It's not rum, Dean. It's...I think I may be starting to feel something. It is a strange feeling, I'm not quite sure if I like it." He frowned as the young woman brought another round to the table, cleared up their earlier shots and smiled at them, before making her way back over to the bar. "Thank you," he muttered after her.

"She's gone, Cas." Dean sighed sadly, "I wanna get ya drunk, Sammy's a sleepy drunk, an' I'm 'pparently a funny drunk, I wanna see what you are."

"I am an angel of the Lord, Dean. I'm not supposed to-"

"Psssh." Dean waved his hand in Cas's face, "It's Saturday, not Thursday. You...you're on vacation! Here!" and he shoved a shot glass in front of Cas before downing another. "Man, we're gonna have sore heads. Hey, Sammy. Sammy!" he poked his brother harshly on the shoulder, frowning when Sam simply snored quietly. "How rude."

"He has not...sleep...what...Dean?" Cas blinked as words failed him for a moment. "I do not like this feeling, Dean. My brain will not engage with my mouth in the proper way – I am not saying what I want to...how do I fix this problem?"

"More alcohol!" Dean hollered loudly as a man shouted, "That's right, buddy!" He shoved another shot in front of Cas and downed one of his own. "Come on Cas. Drink up!"

Cas sighed wearily before lifting up the glass to his mouth and slowly drinking it, just as the lights above them slowly dimmed, and the ones of the stage slowly lit up, illuminating the drunken patrons in the first three rows of the bar. Seconds later, an attractive middle-aged woman made way onto the stage, waving and smiling seductively as the men around her whistled.

"Hello, boys!" she called out, waiting for a moment until the clapping and cheering died down, "Have I got a treat for you! Backstage, I have the one and only, _Nine Ladies Dancing_, ready to wow you all with their singing and dancing!"

Dean scoffed drunkenly and whispered in Cas's ear, "They ain't seen nothin' till they've seen Sam howling along to that midget kid with the purple hoodie, with all the dance moves."

"I don't understand that-"

"I know, Cas. Look up...actually, _**don't**_ look up Justin Bieber...you may want to shoot yourself afterwards." Dean shuddered. "Oh, look! Pretty girls!" he hiccuped.

Cas turned and focused his attention on the nine young women that pranced their way onto the stage and organised themselves before breaking out in singing and dancing...and Cas was bored. He was still being introduced to many of the forms of entertainment that existed on earth – he liked eating, and he'd even like some of the television shows that Dean had showed him. He still didn't understand the majority of cultural references Dean continually made throughout the day, and Dean still loved to tell everyone how Cas was 'desperate to know what happened' in the next episode of some Spanish soap that had been on earlier in the week, but Castiel was still learning. Music, was another thing altogether. There were so many genres and variations, so many musicians that had entertained the world for centuries, and Cas felt that there wasn't enough time to listen to them all – and he didn't need to sleep as much as the boys...yet.

Glancing over at Dean, who was watching the girls with rapt attention, and Sam who had woken up and was staring at him with a lop-sided grin, he motioned that he was going outside and meandered over towards the door and once outside, leant against the wall and closed his eyes. Moments later, he was joined by the boys who were peering at him in concern. "I'm alright," he murmured softly, "I just wanted some fresh air." he pulled himself up off the wall and shuffled his way down the road – not noticing the increasing concern of the Winchesters.

"Sammy? There's something he's not telling us. Again."

"I know." he glanced over at Cas, who was furiously rubbing her arms as his teeth clattered together. Cue the proverbial light-bulb moment, Dean spun to face Sam in horror and hissed, "He's becoming human, Sammy! _**Human**_!"

"Oh god." And it was true – they just hadn't realised it until now. Cas had been sleeping a lot more around them; at first they thought it was because he was spending more time with them lately, thus had to spend more time resting due to the increase in the number of hunts they were going on – but then he had started sleeping every couple of days, and every time he snuggled into the back seat of the Impala, his eyes fluttered shut. And there was the fact that he had ever so subtly asked for food the other day, claiming he had wanted to experience it...but now they knew why. He was suffering from more and more human characteristics every day and it was only a matter of time before he became victim to more and fell. "What are we going to do? Why do think it's happening?" He breathed out in shock.

"I...he's been here a lot lately. With us. Do you think it's some kind of punishment? Or it just happens to angels who stay on earth for too long?"

Sam shrugged dejectedly, "Who knows." He was interrupted by Cas who strode back up to them with a determined look on his face as he reached out his hands and placed a fore-finger on each of the Winchesters' foreheads, his face screwed up in concentration – an oddity in itself as it was normally instantaneous – and eventually he had zapped them back to the motel room. Breathing heavily, Cas lowered himself down onto one of the beds before finally curling up in the foetal position and dropping off to sleep.

_**10. Ten Lords A-Leaping.**_

Sam woke first. His eyes swirled around the room and eventually focused on the alarm clock. It was just after 4am, and he listened again to see what had woken him. Then he heard it again – a light groan that filled the whole room. On closer inspection, he realised the noise had come from Cas who was muttering inaudibly and his eyelids were fluttering as he was dreaming.. Ok, Sam mused, so dreaming has to be added to the list of human things that the angel was experiencing. Noticing that Dean was still snoring into his pillow, Sam kept watch on Cas – for some reason, he was no longer tired, and seeing the angel dreaming was an interesting experience to say the least.

"I don't want to dance." Cas muttered, screwing his face up as Sam fought the urge to laugh. "I never learned how."

Sam grinned and padded over to Cas, placing his hand on the other man's slimmer shoulder, "Cas." he shook him lightly, "Castiel, wake up – it's just a dream."

Cas turned his head, burrowing it further into the pillow as he fisted his hands in the blanket. "No. I said I can't dance. Why would you make me dance? Stop laughing."

"Cas-"

"I don't want to be a human. They are strange creatures. I can't dance. I can sleep and eat, but I can't dance. You can't make me."

Sam's grin slid off his face. It almost sounded like Cas was trying to fend off an attacker of some sort, and the situation had rather quickly lost of all of its humour. "Cas?" he shook a little harder.

Cas's eyes fluttered open, revealing shimmering blue orbs, which shifted around the room before finally settling on Sam's concerned face. "...Sam?"

"You were dreaming, Cas. No-one's going to make you dance."

Cas blinked at them. "But there were seven of my brothers, dressed up like that television programme we watched whilst eating, and they made myself and you and Dean dance like those women in the tutus. It was very uncomfortable. I did not like it at all."

Sam frowned before remembering the show they had watched earlier concerned some old costume drama in which there was a ball – the characters were dancing and somehow that had transferred itself into Cas's thoughts. "Hey, it's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything."

Cas burrowed further into the pile of blankets before asking softly, his bright blue eyes focused intently on Sam, "Will I ever see them again? My family."

"I should think so." Sam nodded, after a brief hesitation. He hoped that would be answer enough for Cas – he wasn't sure what to say.

"I fear I am losing my grace." Cas murmured softly in admittance. "I am becoming more human, and it tires me out to travel. There are intervals where I can no longer hear my family and I am becoming aware of aches and pains." His eyes fluttered shut again, "I fear I may not be an angel much longer. I do not understand why...I rebelled, but then...so did many of the others. Raphael.." he yawned and slowly fell back asleep.

Sam sighed, and smoothed out the blankets around Cas's chin before making his way back to his own bed. He climbed in it and lay back, thoughts swirling in his head as he willed himself to sleep.

"What the friggin' hell was that all about?" Dean's sleepy voice sounded out from somewhere in the darkened room.

"Tell you later." Sam murmured in reply. Seconds later, he too fell asleep as his head hit the pillow.

_**11. Eleven Pipers Piping.**_

"I like this." Cas nodded firmly as he motioned to the passing parade, with the floats and the cheering crowds. "It is a new experience for me."

Dean glanced at Cas, noting his tired eyes, ruffled hair, and scruffy trench-coat before forcing a smile onto his worried face. After the odd conversation he'd overheard last night between Sam and Cas, Dean could resolutely state that he was completely and utterly baffled. There was no books that told of fallen angels – well, there was only theories. And Google was about as much use as a chocolate teapot, he sighed. Well, him and Sammy were going to have to wing it (no pun intended ) – there was no other way around it. Sam appeared next to them with three hot dogs, and passing them to the other two, he scoffed his down and licked his lips, just as Dean did the same. Cas was looking at his in fascination.

"What is it?"

"A hot dog." He replied then noticing the look of horror that appeared on Castiel's face, he amended, "Oh, it's not an _**actual**_ hot dog, Cas. It's a sausage, really. Go on, try it."

Cas looked warily at it before tentatively taking a small bite. Instantly, a small grin broke out across his face and he swallowed the entire things after a couple more bites. "This is very nice, thank you."

"No problem. Look, here come the pipers." Sam pointed out as the group trudged through the newly fallen snow, playing Jingle bells.

The trio stared in fascination as eleven pipers passing them, grinning widely as they played an array of Christmas songs, one after the other as two out of the three men were singing along under their breath, childhood memories of Christmas flashing through their minds; the other man was simply gazing at the group, suddenly realising that becoming a human altogether may not be an entirely bad experience – he had found things he could enjoy, and as long as Sam and Dean were with him, things wouldn't be so bad.

_**12. Twelve Drummers Drumming.**_

Once the pipers had left, the drummers appeared, the sounds heard in the distance moments before their arrival.

They slowly edged their way around the corner, and paraded down the main street amongst the cheering locals (and Sam, Dean and Castiel), where the large Christmas tree in the town square shimmered under the weight of it's many fairy-lights and baubles, giving the whole town the feeling that Christmas was upon them – they could shove away their burdens and problems for just a minute to enjoy the festivities. The drummers started playing a medley of Christmas songs, summing up the meaning of Christmas whilst carollers followed promptly behind them, singing out the lyrics, joined in by the crowds before the twelve drummers passed by the trio and continued their way down the street.

The Winchesters were intrigued to learn that Cas loved the Christmas parade – he was staring in awe at the dazzling fairy-lights wrapped around the towering trees and lampposts; he wasn't blinking when he realised he was surrounded by seas of people – children, parents, families everywhere, and his mouth was slightly open as he took in the stampede of performers as they passed him – the pipers, the dancers, the elves and finally, at the parade -

"Santa Claus." They heard him murmur, almost child-like. That's when they realised this was like a childhood for him – all his life he had made to follow orders, obey commands and to think for oneself was frowned upon to put it politely. So to be thrust onto this foreign planet with no concept of human characteristics and behaviours, and to be thrown in with the two men who were extremely famous, both in Heaven, and in Hell, would be somewhat disconcerting to say the least. He was managing though, they were helping him in every possible way, teaching him how to read people for one thing. Now he was discovering all these new experiences that kids have when they're young – so yeah, Dean thought with a fond smile, this really was Cas's childhood, and they were going to do everything in their power to make it the best damned childhood a fallen angel could ever have.

_**Epilogue – White Christmas.**_

Dean woke up with his toes sticking out the bottom of the bed, teeth clattering together as his body was overcome by a series of violent shivers. Shoving his feet under the covers again, and pulling some of the blankets up to below his ears, he snuggled down and was about to drift off to sleep, when he saw Castiel looming near the window, gazing out to the distance with a melancholy expression on his young face.

"Snow has fallen," he murmured, not turning away, knowing instantly that Dean was awake. "It is untouched, but it won't stay that way for long. Children will awaken to open their presents, then go out and build men, like in that film we watched yesterday."

"Cas, that happens in pretty much every Christmas film that has kids in it." Dean muttered sleepily. Then realised - "Merry Christmas, Cas."

"Hmm?" Cas turned to face Dean.

"Merry Christmas. Thanks for the rings by the way. You didn't have to."

Dean could have sworn a light blush tinted Cas's normally pale cheeks as he breathed out, "It was the least I could do for you all. You all taught me what it is to be human. I do not fear falling now, as much as I used to. I know I will be in safe hands."

"We'll try our best. But you know Sam and I's track record ain't exactly the best."

"You try. And that's what matters. You love each other, and that makes you strong."

Dean grinned, then grimaced as he slid out of bed and his bare feet touched the frozen wooden floor. He padded over to Cas and placed a hand on a slim shoulder. "You're family too, Cas, Just as important as Sammy. What was it Bobby's ring said? ' _Blood is irrelevant of what the heart feels'_, and we feel you're our family...and I'm going to stop now before I need to change my name to Deanna."

The reference was completely lost on Cas as usual, nevertheless, he turned his head to face Dean and whispered quietly (Sam was still sleeping), "Thank you, Dean. It is nice to have family that are not trying to rule your life," he frowned as if worried he'd said something wrong before continuing, "I am here to stay, if you will have me. I can help in many ways. I may be losing my grace, but I can learn to fight like a human. And I like research."

"Oh god, a Sammy clone." Dean ducked as a pillow smacked him right on the nose, "Oi! I thought you were still sleeping'!"

"How could I sleep through your chick-flick moments! I need the blackmail material for future reference!" Sam chuckled as Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Merry Christmas Sam." Castiel interrupted with a soft smile. "It's snowing outside."

"Really?" Sam exclaimed and launched himself out of the bed behind the two men at the window. "Wicked! And merry Christmas to you to, Cas."

Dean rolled his eyes and the three of them turned to stare out at the frozen wilderness outside, the normally dreary mountains were covered under a deep blanket of snow, the lakes at the bottom transformed into an idyllic ice rink which was rapidly filling up with families. Cas's prediction became true as a stampede of children escaped their homes, bundled up in layers upon layers of warm clothing, many throwing snowballs at their younger siblings, or building snowmen. It was truly a white Christmas, and they could relax for a little while, before the Impala took them off to a new hunt.

_**OOOOOOO**_

**A/N: ****So, Merry Christmas again! Hope everyone has a lovely time! See you all in 2012!**

**=D**

**X**


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